Sounders FC Makes Defender Andrew Duran Top Pick

RENTON, WASH. - The Seattle Sounders FC selected Creighton University defender Andrew Duran with its top pick (15th overall) and University of Alabama-Birmingham forward Babayele Sodade with its second selection (34th overall) in Thursday's Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

"We are excited about the draft," said Sounders FC technical director Chris Henderson. "We put in a great amount of time following the players and we are very pleased with both players we came out with."

"Andrew is a player that we like," said Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid. "He is a player that's very two-footed. He's comfortable playing on the left side of the center in the back as well as the right side. He was the main defender on the team that was the best defensive team in the country last year so he's got to be doing something right."

Duran, a 22-year-old defender from Creighton University, was named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and NSCAA All-American Second Team in 2011. He made 59 appearances with 48 starts in his five seasons at Creighton, including injury-shortened seasons in 2008 and 2010. He made a career-high 24 starts as a senior and earned College Soccer News All-American First Team honors. He helped lead Creighton to one of the best defensive performances in 2011 with a 0.2 goals against average and 19 shutouts, one shy of the NCAA record.

Duran, a native of Mokena, Ill., graduated from Creighton in December 2011 with a degree in marketing and has worked at a camp for children with cancer, Co-ho-lo, outside of Omaha for the past two years.

"I was overjoyed when I was picked by Seattle," said Duran. "This organization does a great job with everything top down-from the ownership to everything that goes on there. I'm just overjoyed that I'm going there."

With its second pick (34th overall) Seattle selected University of Alabama-Birmingham forward Babayele Sodade (pronounced Bah-bye-elle-EE Sho-Dahd-DAY). The 6-3, 195-pound forward scored 13 goals with five assists as a senior and was named to the All-Conference USA First Team. Sodade, 21, made 73 appearances with 29 goals and 11 assists in his four years at UAB. The native of Ontario, Canada was invited to the Canadian Olympic team camp in 2010.

"Sodade is a big presence up front, he's got good pace," said Schmid. "He showed well at the combine. He's had a good career at UAB and he's the kind of player who could be a surprise guy like [Sporting Kansas City forward] C.J. Sapong was last year."

Andrew Wenger of Duke University was chosen No. 1 overall by the expansion Montreal Impact. Federal Way native Kelyn Rowe, a sophomore midfielder at UCLA, was taken with the No. 3 overall pick by New England. University of Washington midfielder Jacob Hustedt was selected by San Jose with the sixth pick of the second round.

The MLS Supplemental Draft, consisting of four rounds, will be held via teleconference on Tuesday. Preseason training begins January 19 at the Starfire Sports in Tukwila, Wash.

All SuperDraft selections are expected to report to Seattle for preseason training. Sounders FC will begin its fourth MLS season by hosting Toronto FC on March 17 on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.